Assam Floods: Abnormal airfare hike, Silchar MP Dr Rajdeep Roy moves PMO

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: Railway track in the hill section had been washed away by incessant showers. Jowai-Badarpur roadways had been blocked due to massive landslides. Barak Valley, in the true sense, is now a 'marooned valley'. In this backdrop, private flyers had hiked the fare abnormally. For a 30-minute flight from Silchar to Guwahati, a passenger had to pay almost Rs 14,000. Silchar-Kolkata airfare went up to Rs 20,000.

Silchar MP Dr Rajdeep Roy took the issue to the Prime Minister's Office as he tweeted, "With railways and roadways disrupted due to heavy rains and landslides I am stunned to see Silchar-Guwahati airfare reach Rs 31000 for a 25 min flight for 300km !' Apart from Narendra Modi, Dr Roy tagged the tweet to Civil Aviation Minister J M Scindia and the Airport Authority of India.

On the other hand, Congress MLA Kamalakha Dey Purkaystha too sought the intervention of Scindia. In a letter to the Civil Aviation Minister, Purkaystha, the working president of State Congress, said the abnormal hike in airfare amounted to blackmail.

At present, only two private flyers Spice Jet and Indigo are operating from Silchar.

In his reply to Roy, Civil Aviation Minister J M Scindia twitted that "the Guwahati to Silchar route is subject to fare cap within 15 days of travel to ensure exorbitant fares are not charged from travellers. Have ascertained from airlines operating to Silchar that they are adhering to the directions."

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